Yes, No, Someone Else
Sermon
Sermons On The First Readings
Series I, Cycle B
There is an old story about a beautiful emperor moth. This emperor moth was really not living, but was tucked away in a cocoon just waiting to be released. As this particular emperor moth was struggling to get through the narrow neck of the cocoon, a boy was intently observing it. As the moth struggled to release himself from the cocoon, the boy felt the moth would never make it out of the cocoon. As the struggle went on for several hours, the boy became increasingly impatient. He thought to himself, "Maybe there is something wrong." He decided to take matters into his own hands, and with a pair of scissors the boy gently snipped the threads around the opening of the cocoon to make it easier for the moth to emerge. As soon as the threads were snipped, the moth crawled out; however, as it did, it dropped behind it an ugly, distended, shriveled wing which was useless.
In the Old Testament lesson for today, David is much like the little boy who snipped away at the emperor moth's cocoon. For the first time since ascending the throne, David is in a position to snip the cocoon from which he had been emerging.
David is established in his new house and is secure from his notorious Philistine enemies. No doubt David has become bored and wants to emerge from the cocoon in which God has placed him. In so doing, he focuses on himself and his own insecurities. In this mind set, David decides that he must build God a house. In his own mind he has already said, "Yes," to his idea.
Yes
When King David says, "Yes," in himself, he decides that he will consult his pastor, Nathan the Prophet. Nathan, like most pastors, is thrilled and excited that such a distinguished person, the King of Israel, would seek his advice.
When David reveals to Nathan his thoughts concerning the building of the Temple, Nathan is enthusiastic. In simple parlance, he tells the King to "go for it." No wonder Nathan is excited; prophets aren't accustomed to kings offering to do something for God. This is a breath of fresh air for Pastor Prophet Nathan. Nathan is immediately inspired.
Pastor Nathan asks no questions; he gives no thought or reflection to the proposal. The prophet wholeheartedly endorses the king's idea. The king wants to build God a house. One does not have to think, pray, or reflect on this decision; nothing could be better than building God a house.
In the movie Field of Dreams, Iowa farmer Ray Kinella walks through his cornfield when he hears a voice. The voice is a whisper, but the words are clear and unmistakable: "If you build it, he will come." Kinella is filled with questions: Build what? Who will come? Who spoke to me? Then comes the revelation: Build a baseball field and Shoeless Joe Jackson, the great star of the Chicago White Sox, will come.
Kinella is deeply convinced that he is to build a ball field. He becomes obsessed with getting it built. A section of his cornfield is bulldozed, and a baseball diamond is constructed. He waits. One evening, out of the tall corn steps Shoeless Joe Jackson. Other White Sox players and members of the old New York Giants later join him. Every day the teams play each other, but they are only visible to the farmer, his family, and a social activist named Terrence Mann -- people who have heard the voice and believe. The words of the voice become in a sense an invitation to the viewers: "If you build it, he will come."
Building God a house was David's Field of Dreams. God had never whispered to David, "Build me a house," nor had God ever revealed to David in any manner that he needed, wanted, or expected David to build him a house.
Both David and Nathan failed to realize that sometimes dreams and ideas are from God, and sometimes they are not. Even you and I often have friends who will encourage us to go for something which is our dream, our plan, our agenda, yet it may not be God's desire for us at all.
Advent comes to remind us that God had a plan for our world. This plan was divine, and God himself would dwell in a human temple, cradled in the arms of a mother, held by a nervous father, doted on by loving relatives. In God's plan, the "Word became flesh and lived among us."
God's plan was a divine "yes" based on his love for broken, hurting, estranged humanity. David's plan, to which Pastor Nathan gave positive assent, was based on human desire and false assumption. This "yes" was a human "yes" without divine consultation.
Maybe David crossed a line from being full of God to being full of himself. There is a clue found in 2 Samuel 7:2: "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent."
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent it would be well for each one to be reminded that God had a plan for our world. This plan was not conceived in the mind of man, but in the heart of God.
No
Nathan leaves David with a "green light" to go ahead with his dream to build a house for God. That night God got Pastor Nathan's attention. God didn't see David's intention in the same light that Nathan did. Early the next morning Nathan goes to the king and revokes his building permit. Pastor Nathan throws a wet blanket over the fire of David's desire. The message from God is, "No!"
This message from Pastor Nathan to King David is blunt, forthright, and final. "David, you are not going to build me a house, I am going to build you a house." God informed the king that God is doing the building, not David. God reminds the shepherd boy king of all that God had done for him. God does not want David calling attention to himself. Saul, Israel's first king, had been a dismal failure, and God didn't want David to follow in Saul's footsteps. God wants David to know that God is Sovereign and that David's kingship will witness to that sovereignty.
In his recital of all that he had done for David, God is the first-person subject of 23 action verbs. David, who thought he was going to do something for God, now has to listen to a detailed description of what God has done and will do for and in David.
The issue that David had forgotten was that God is a God of freedom and grace. God is simply saying to David, "Don't box me in. When did I ever state that I needed a house?" This free God reminds David that God and God alone is in control.
During the season of Advent we are reminded once again that God is sovereign, and in his sovereignty he decides what he will do for humankind. In reaching love he sent his Son Jesus to show us what he is like. Because of the coming of Jesus, we now check our plans and dreams with him so that our will is absorbed by his will. Sometimes God has to tell us "no," just as he did to David long years ago.
Someone Else
God makes very clear his purpose for David. That purpose was simply "that he was to be a king, not build a temple." God informs King David that he is not gifted for building a temple. David is a man of war, a soldier, a fighter, a military genius, but not a builder.
Then God, who is a God of great surprises, now opens the package of his grace and hands David a surprise package, wrapped in understanding and love. "Not you, David, someone else. Your son will build the temple. Yes, David, through your son your dream will find fulfillment."
God then moves to give David a promise and assurance. "Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16). Did God keep his word to David? Today there is no descendant of David sitting on a throne in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. How does one interpret this promise and commitment made by God to David?
God is revealing to David a larger purpose, and the Christian Church has seen Jesus in the light of this promise. Jesus was born in the line of David and thus inherits this promise made by God to David. The Gospel reading for today is the Annunciation to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) in which this promise given to David is reiterated and affirmed. The Incarnation is connected to David's promise. Advent each year offers the church the opportunity to wait again for the coming of the son of David and the Son of God.
Gabriel Garvin Marquez tells the story of a village where people are afflicted with a strange, contagious amnesia. This amnesia started with the oldest member of the village and began to work its way down to younger generations. The disease caused people to forget the names of common everyday objects. A young man who was still unaffected by the amnesia realized what was happening. He began to put labels on everything: "This is a window." "This is a cow which has to be milked every morning." On the main road leading into the town he erected two signs. One read: "The name of our village is Macondo." The other one in much larger print read: "God exists!"
This enduring promise to David was a promise that God existed, and David would not be forgotten. It also is an Advent promise to humankind that God has come to us in Jesus who is Emmanuel, "God with us." God reveals himself and his existence in Jesus. Advent informs us each year that God is not hidden from us.
When the emperor moth struggles to get out of the cocoon through the narrow opening, there is the hope that a thing of beauty and majesty will emerge. Advent is like the emperor moth. When allowed to fulfill its function in the church, it becomes a season of beauty and grandeur in which the promise of God for a Savior is fulfilled. This is always a thing of beauty and also of glory.
In the Old Testament lesson for today, David is much like the little boy who snipped away at the emperor moth's cocoon. For the first time since ascending the throne, David is in a position to snip the cocoon from which he had been emerging.
David is established in his new house and is secure from his notorious Philistine enemies. No doubt David has become bored and wants to emerge from the cocoon in which God has placed him. In so doing, he focuses on himself and his own insecurities. In this mind set, David decides that he must build God a house. In his own mind he has already said, "Yes," to his idea.
Yes
When King David says, "Yes," in himself, he decides that he will consult his pastor, Nathan the Prophet. Nathan, like most pastors, is thrilled and excited that such a distinguished person, the King of Israel, would seek his advice.
When David reveals to Nathan his thoughts concerning the building of the Temple, Nathan is enthusiastic. In simple parlance, he tells the King to "go for it." No wonder Nathan is excited; prophets aren't accustomed to kings offering to do something for God. This is a breath of fresh air for Pastor Prophet Nathan. Nathan is immediately inspired.
Pastor Nathan asks no questions; he gives no thought or reflection to the proposal. The prophet wholeheartedly endorses the king's idea. The king wants to build God a house. One does not have to think, pray, or reflect on this decision; nothing could be better than building God a house.
In the movie Field of Dreams, Iowa farmer Ray Kinella walks through his cornfield when he hears a voice. The voice is a whisper, but the words are clear and unmistakable: "If you build it, he will come." Kinella is filled with questions: Build what? Who will come? Who spoke to me? Then comes the revelation: Build a baseball field and Shoeless Joe Jackson, the great star of the Chicago White Sox, will come.
Kinella is deeply convinced that he is to build a ball field. He becomes obsessed with getting it built. A section of his cornfield is bulldozed, and a baseball diamond is constructed. He waits. One evening, out of the tall corn steps Shoeless Joe Jackson. Other White Sox players and members of the old New York Giants later join him. Every day the teams play each other, but they are only visible to the farmer, his family, and a social activist named Terrence Mann -- people who have heard the voice and believe. The words of the voice become in a sense an invitation to the viewers: "If you build it, he will come."
Building God a house was David's Field of Dreams. God had never whispered to David, "Build me a house," nor had God ever revealed to David in any manner that he needed, wanted, or expected David to build him a house.
Both David and Nathan failed to realize that sometimes dreams and ideas are from God, and sometimes they are not. Even you and I often have friends who will encourage us to go for something which is our dream, our plan, our agenda, yet it may not be God's desire for us at all.
Advent comes to remind us that God had a plan for our world. This plan was divine, and God himself would dwell in a human temple, cradled in the arms of a mother, held by a nervous father, doted on by loving relatives. In God's plan, the "Word became flesh and lived among us."
God's plan was a divine "yes" based on his love for broken, hurting, estranged humanity. David's plan, to which Pastor Nathan gave positive assent, was based on human desire and false assumption. This "yes" was a human "yes" without divine consultation.
Maybe David crossed a line from being full of God to being full of himself. There is a clue found in 2 Samuel 7:2: "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent."
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent it would be well for each one to be reminded that God had a plan for our world. This plan was not conceived in the mind of man, but in the heart of God.
No
Nathan leaves David with a "green light" to go ahead with his dream to build a house for God. That night God got Pastor Nathan's attention. God didn't see David's intention in the same light that Nathan did. Early the next morning Nathan goes to the king and revokes his building permit. Pastor Nathan throws a wet blanket over the fire of David's desire. The message from God is, "No!"
This message from Pastor Nathan to King David is blunt, forthright, and final. "David, you are not going to build me a house, I am going to build you a house." God informed the king that God is doing the building, not David. God reminds the shepherd boy king of all that God had done for him. God does not want David calling attention to himself. Saul, Israel's first king, had been a dismal failure, and God didn't want David to follow in Saul's footsteps. God wants David to know that God is Sovereign and that David's kingship will witness to that sovereignty.
In his recital of all that he had done for David, God is the first-person subject of 23 action verbs. David, who thought he was going to do something for God, now has to listen to a detailed description of what God has done and will do for and in David.
The issue that David had forgotten was that God is a God of freedom and grace. God is simply saying to David, "Don't box me in. When did I ever state that I needed a house?" This free God reminds David that God and God alone is in control.
During the season of Advent we are reminded once again that God is sovereign, and in his sovereignty he decides what he will do for humankind. In reaching love he sent his Son Jesus to show us what he is like. Because of the coming of Jesus, we now check our plans and dreams with him so that our will is absorbed by his will. Sometimes God has to tell us "no," just as he did to David long years ago.
Someone Else
God makes very clear his purpose for David. That purpose was simply "that he was to be a king, not build a temple." God informs King David that he is not gifted for building a temple. David is a man of war, a soldier, a fighter, a military genius, but not a builder.
Then God, who is a God of great surprises, now opens the package of his grace and hands David a surprise package, wrapped in understanding and love. "Not you, David, someone else. Your son will build the temple. Yes, David, through your son your dream will find fulfillment."
God then moves to give David a promise and assurance. "Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16). Did God keep his word to David? Today there is no descendant of David sitting on a throne in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. How does one interpret this promise and commitment made by God to David?
God is revealing to David a larger purpose, and the Christian Church has seen Jesus in the light of this promise. Jesus was born in the line of David and thus inherits this promise made by God to David. The Gospel reading for today is the Annunciation to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) in which this promise given to David is reiterated and affirmed. The Incarnation is connected to David's promise. Advent each year offers the church the opportunity to wait again for the coming of the son of David and the Son of God.
Gabriel Garvin Marquez tells the story of a village where people are afflicted with a strange, contagious amnesia. This amnesia started with the oldest member of the village and began to work its way down to younger generations. The disease caused people to forget the names of common everyday objects. A young man who was still unaffected by the amnesia realized what was happening. He began to put labels on everything: "This is a window." "This is a cow which has to be milked every morning." On the main road leading into the town he erected two signs. One read: "The name of our village is Macondo." The other one in much larger print read: "God exists!"
This enduring promise to David was a promise that God existed, and David would not be forgotten. It also is an Advent promise to humankind that God has come to us in Jesus who is Emmanuel, "God with us." God reveals himself and his existence in Jesus. Advent informs us each year that God is not hidden from us.
When the emperor moth struggles to get out of the cocoon through the narrow opening, there is the hope that a thing of beauty and majesty will emerge. Advent is like the emperor moth. When allowed to fulfill its function in the church, it becomes a season of beauty and grandeur in which the promise of God for a Savior is fulfilled. This is always a thing of beauty and also of glory.
